Vending Machines Dispense Torah Learning

Learning Torah has replaced chips, candy bars and pretzels at a vending machine on the second floor of the Yerushalayim Central Bus Station. Passengers can receive a small booklet that allows them to cover halacha, Mishnayos, Chumash and more. It takes only five minutes to read the booklet, which costs 15 shekel ($3.60). The Vesein Chelkeinu project is the brainchild of Meoros HaDaf HaYomi, which for 12 years has attracted an international community of Jews learning Torah.Yehoshua Frei, marketing director of Meoros, explains that the idea is to encourage people to use their time productively and to improve the quality of their spare moments by learning Torah for five minutes a day.

“We made the format for five minutes so that everyone can feel he is learning Torah and Judaism,” he says. The bus station location, between the middle staircase and the escalator, was chosen because of the large volume of passengers who pass through, enabling them to learn while waiting for a bus or sitting during travel.

Frei estimates that hundreds of booklets are snapped up every month, and contacts have been made with officials at Ben Gurion International Airport to install a machine at the terminal there. Malls and supermarkets also are on the list of potential dispensing venues.